Great Call of China (S.A.S.S.) (16 page)

“Yeah,” Cece said. “I’ve heard that, too.” It wasn’t exactly the most appealing story she’d heard about China. Censoring history and killing people who were only expressing their political views ranked right up there. As far as Cece knew, one of the goals of communism was to eliminate oppression. But it seemed to Cece that preventing freedom of speech
was
oppression. Like the government’s family policies, it was another of those issues Cece didn’t quite understand.

As the bus continued, Mark made another announcement. “We’re getting close to the hotel. Now ideally, the program would have liked to set up your stay at a traditional courtyard hotel with Chinese decor, but because those places aren’t large enough for our group, we’re staying at a Western chain. Once you all have had a chance to check out your rooms, head downstairs for breakfast, and then we’ll head out again to the Great Wall. Your bags will be in your room when we return.”

The bus pulled up to a modern building about eight stories high. Red carpet covered the entrance floor, and men in uniforms with brass luggage carts awaited them. The canopy above read Holiday Inn.

“This is a Holiday Inn?” Kallyn said. “You’d think this is a Four Seasons.”

“I’m not complaining,” Cece said, standing up.

They entered the lobby, and Jenny handed out room keys. Cece and Kallyn found their room on the seventh floor, and Kallyn slipped the key into the card reader. The light flashed green, and they stepped inside.

The room was large, complete with two double beds and a sitting area. “Forget the train,” Kallyn said, flopping onto one of the fluffy beds. “
This
is way better than the dorm.” She grabbed a room-service menu and thumbed through it while Cece went over to the window.

Cece scanned the city skyline. Somewhere out there was her orphanage.

“So what’s it like to be home?” Kallyn said.

“Home?”

“You know. Back here.”

“Well...” Cece considered Kallyn’s question as she examined the view again. “This doesn’t feel all that different from Xi’an. I’m beginning to wonder if China will ever feel familiar.”

Kallyn got up and looked out the window with Cece. “That’ll probably change. Once you get to the orphanage.”

“Maybe, ” Cece said.

“Come on.” Kallyn moved away from the window. “Let’s go downstairs and meet the group.”

After breakfast, the group got on the bus for their excursion to the Great Wall. Jenny explained they would travel about seventy-five kilometers northwest of the city and drive into the Tianshou Mountains, where the Wall crested its ridges. As the bus traveled along a multilane expressway, they left the city behind and entered a beautiful countryside with craggy mountains in the background. The only thing spoiling the atmosphere was the gray sky.

Eventually, it started to drizzle, and Kallyn groaned. “Of all days for it to rain.”

“I know,” Cece said as she watched the clouds gather. But it wasn’t long before the sight of the Great Wall distracted them from the weather. The Wall snaked along the ridge of the mountains, like a long, white dragon stretched atop the misty peaks. It had watchtowers like the City Walls in Xi’an. But unlike the City Walls, which were flat and in the middle of a burgeoning city, the Great Wall sloped up and down, and everything around it looked untouched. No buildings, no signs, no roads. So majestic and timeless. It was simply beautiful.

“I’m going to climb that bad boy,” Kallyn said. “All the way to the top. You want to do it with me?”

Cece nodded. “I’m up for it.”

Mark picked up the microphone and addressed the group as the bus made its way toward the Wall. “Due to the rain, I have good news and bad news. The good news is the crowds may be a bit thinned out, which should make your climb more enjoyable. The bad news is we’re going to have to cut our trip short if it pours. So if anyone has big dreams of going to the top, it may not happen. . . . ”

A collective sigh could be heard throughout the bus. Cece glanced at Kallyn, who looked disappointed.

“If it does rain hard, you will need to slowly make your way down and board the bus. I don’t want any serious accidents on the Wall today. Oh, and if you need an umbrella, vendors outside the entrance will be more than happy to sell you one. You’ll have two and a half hours to explore the Wall. Afterward, we’ll grab some lunch at a local restaurant and walk around the area.”

Jenny immediately launched into her overview. “The beginning of the Great Wall dates back to the Warring States period, around 443 to 221 B.C., when the various states each erected walls to defend their territory. Emperor Qin Shi Huang defeated these states and reconfigured the walls to accommodate the new empire—what we now consider to be China.”

Jenny went on to explain that through the dynasties thereafter, the Wall was modified as the defensive needs of China changed. The section they would be visiting now had been constructed during the Ming dynasty, a time when the largest efforts on the Wall were made to protect the country from nomadic warriors.

“When you climb the wall,” Jenny went on, “you will notice many watchtowers. Soldiers were posted there and would communicate to the Forbidden City in Beijing. They used smoke signals in the event of trouble. It is said the number of smoke signals indicated the size of the invading forces. One signal for one hundred men, two signals for five hundred men, and three smokes for a thousand or more. So when you think of the Great Wall, you may view it as a deterrent and a communication system, rather than a place where battles were fought. Few men were needed to man the Great Wall.” As Jenny finished, the bus pulled into the parking lot.

Kallyn and Cece got off, hurried toward the first vendor they saw, and bought umbrellas.

“Are you ready?” Kallyn shouldered a small backpack and popped open her umbrella.

Cece looked up at the Wall. Already tourists were climbing a chain of steps that seemed to stretch forever, hill after hill, ascending the mountain. It hadn’t looked that hard when she had seen the Wall from a distance on the bus. But now, up close, the steepness of it all caught her off guard. She swallowed as she held her umbrella over her head. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Pace yourself,” Kallyn said as they made their way up the wet steps. “You don’t want to wear yourself out before we reach the first tower.”

Kallyn and Cece steadily made the climb.

Somewhere along the way to the first tower, Cece heard Jessica not far behind her. “Chris, you think you might be able to walk a little closer or something, in case I fall? I didn’t wear the right shoes.... ”

Cece glanced back, wondering where Will was. Among the umbrellas, she saw him not that far behind Jess, climbing with Alex. He caught her eye and smiled.

Cece smiled back, then pressed forward with Kallyn.

Soon they reached the first watchtower, where many people had decided to take a break. Kallyn and Cece kept pushing though, hoping to beat the rain.

As they continued upward, the steps became much steeper, and the path narrowed. Even though Cece wasn’t afraid of heights, she was starting to get a bit dizzy. Cece looked back, gripping a handrail, and hoped to see a terrific view, but the cloudy weather made it hard to see much. She hoped the journey would be worth it.

Once they reached the second tower, Cece and Kallyn rested briefly, then higher and higher they climbed, the gap between them and the rest of the students widening. After about forty-five minutes, the rain stopped. Cece could see only a smattering of people ahead of them. Will and Alex were at least a tower behind. She caught her breath and looked up, unable to see where the stairs ended. “Kallyn, can we make it all the way?”

Kallyn took out a water bottle from her bag. She passed it to Cece, then got another bottle for herself. “Absolutely. You see that old lady?” She pointed to a lone woman who was coming down, high above them. “If she can do it, so can you.”

Cece nodded and chugged some water.

“Hey,” Kallyn said. “Go in front of me. That way you won’t be tempted to slow down.”

Cece did as she was told, and they climbed higher. It began to feel like she wasn’t visiting some tourist destination anymore. This was a crazy test of her endurance, even her courage, as the steps became steeper and narrower. Kallyn seemed to be enjoying every second of it. “Just think how good you’ll feel when we make it to the top, Cece.”

Just how good
will
it feel when I get to the top?
Cece thought. This was one of the hardest things she had ever done. It quickly became a game for her. If she could climb to the highest point of this section of the Great Wall, she could do anything. Tomorrow’s trip to the orphanage would seem like nothing. Her eyes focused on every step she took. She started counting them off. After another twenty minutes, her thighs felt like they were on fire.

“We’re almost there,” Kallyn said.

Cece looked up again. They really were getting close. Only two more towers. She gritted her teeth. She could do this. She
had
to do this. Higher and higher, she went. The sky darkened once more, and it started to rain.

They moved faster. The rain came down harder, and Cece knew Mark would want them to turn back.

“Oh, we’re almost there,” Kallyn said.

They didn’t even bother to open their umbrellas. It took every ounce of Cece’s energy to push forward.

Other tourists who had already made it were coming back down.

Finally, Cece was only steps from the last tower. Now it was raining so hard she could barely see ahead of her. Her hair and her clothes were soaked. But she had just five steps left.
Four
... Her body filled with anticipation.
Three
...
two
...

She took the last step, and relief washed over her. She thought she would collapse as she stood at the final watchtower. No one was there. It was as though she was the only person on the planet who had reached the very top.

Cece looked all around her. She had a 360-degree view of the vast expanse of China below. She hadn’t even realized they had made it above a thin layer of clouds. The clouds rolled across the horizon, allowing the ridges of the Tianshou Mountains to peek through. She felt like she was literally on top of the world.

She stood before the tower, with her arms up to the rain. “We did it, Kallyn!”

Kallyn joined her, surveying the surrounding landscape. “It’s totally stunning.”

Cece squinted at the sky as the cool rain pelted her face. “You were right, Kallyn. I feel incredible.”

“Cece, you couldn’t look happier than you do now. We’ve got to take a picture.”

Kallyn opened her umbrella and grabbed her camera from her backpack. She snapped a shot of Cece, then Cece got one of Kallyn. Afterward, they stood together under the umbrella and gazed downward in the direction they had come. Through the rain and mist, Cece could see the stairs below snaking in and out of the clouds. They must have covered at least a couple of miles of steps, if not more.

“So, Cece,” Kallyn said, “are you ready for tomorrow?”

Cece looked at Kallyn, still in disbelief that they had made it to the top. Maybe she really could do anything she set her mind to. Maybe China was showing her that she did belong here in some way.
Maybe
. . . Cece took in the view once more... tomorrow would prove to be amazing, like today.

Cece grinned at Kallyn. “Actually? I think I am.”

The next morning, Cece lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. “I can’t feel my legs,” she moaned to Kallyn.

Kallyn grumbled in her sleep.

“
Kallyn,
I can’t move.”

“What?” she said.

Cece looked over.

Kallyn was rubbing her eyes. “You’re probably just a little sore.” She slowly sat up.

“A
little
sore? I’m going to need a wheelchair to get to the orphanage.”

“
Please.
Today’s your big day. Are you sure you aren’t making excuses?”

Cece turned on her side. Yes, she was making excuses. When she had woken up, the first thing she did was worry about all the things that could go wrong today. Forget Will’s advice on the train—it was all doom, doom, and doom. What if Peter forgot to show up? Or what if they got lost on the way to the orphanage? Or what if no one would even let them in if they did find the place? She was practically nauseated. “But my legs really do hurt.”

“What happened to your enthusiasm from yesterday?” Kallyn said, getting out of bed.

“Gone,” Cece complained. “Completely gone.”

“Come on.” Kallyn came over and pulled Cece into a sitting position. “Rise and shine. I’m not going to hear this anymore.”

Cece groaned. She set her feet on the carpet and got out of bed.

It wasn’t long before they headed out of Beijing for a short trip southwest of the city to visit Zhoukoudian. Jenny explained the site was a series of caves where the largest samples of
Homo erectus
had ever been found, including a skull of the Peking Man, which was once recognized as proof of the theory of evolution. Once they arrived, however, Cece could hardly focus on what Jenny was saying. She was too busy mentally rehearsing how she would interact with the people at the orphanage. She’d have Peter introduce her as a former orphan. She’d tell them she’d always wanted to see where she’d spent her first two years. Then she’d ask for a tour like her father had suggested and get to know the care workers a bit. Finally, when everyone was comfortable with her, she’d say, “So ... um ... do any of you know why I was abandoned?” That’s when the room would go silent. No one would have any idea. She’d ask, “Well, perhaps you can tell me where my parents are?” At this point the care workers would gape at her in horror, kick her out, and tell her to never come back.